Shop for the best auto loan quotes

In the modern information age, there is no reason to settle for the first auto loan you can find. Shopping car loans can save you a lot of money every month and that adds up to HUGE savings over the life of the loan.

Online car loan quotes make the process even easier. You can compare rates from dozens or hundreds of lenders to find the best deal. Of course most people can quickly become bored trying to figure out if it's better to pay 20% down at 12% or 0% down at 14% so your best bet is to go through a broker.

Using online services can save you thousands of dollars by allowing you to easily compare car loan quotes from a huge number of companies. Once you have lenders competing for your business, your rates drop and you reap the benefit. Plus shopping with a preapproved loan gives you bargaining power at the car lot.

Don't forget about insurance

Too many car buyers budget for the car loans but forget about insurance costs. This can be a real problem for a buyer who might be getting into barely affordable payments then has to add insurance premiums on top of that.

An auto loan carries requirements for substantial insurance to ensure the lender is protected in case you get into an accident. If you are upgrading from an older car, you may be paying just liability insurance so your new insurance rates will be much higher than you are used to.

Shop around to several auto insurance providers rather than settling on the first one. Even if you are happy with your insurance carrier it still pays to compare. You may be able to negotiate a better premium with your current carrier by showing that you can get coverage elsewhere for less.

Factor in maintenance and other costs

If this is your first car, the cost of operating your car will be another significant hit to your budget. However even if you are upgrading from an older car, you may see a substantial increase in operating costs if you, for example, switch from a small, fuel-efficient car to a large SUV with lower gas mileage.

A good source for operating costs is the American Automobile Association. In their 2007 report, assuming the owner drives 1,000 miles per month, AAA calculated that it would cost $124/month to operate a small sedan and $380/month to drive a four-wheel-drive SUV.

Purchase of a new car strains many household budgets, and not just from the payments on car loans. Do your homework so you don't end up in a financial situation you can't handle.